k.d. lang

Absolute Torch and Twang' – the third major-label LP by Canadian chanteuse K.D. Lang and
the second with her band the Reclines – splits the difference between the unbridled high
spirits and shit-kicking backbeat of Angel With a Lariat and the more studied, Patsy
Cline-influenced studioscapes crafted by legendary country producer Owen Bradley on
Shadowland. The result is a record that's thoughtful and mature. There are more... More >

Finally she swells with the contained enthusiasm of Tracy Nelson Country 20 years ago, back when authenticity wasn't such a vexed concept. Willie Nelson's "Three Days" and Wynn Stewart's "Big Big Love" do stand out, but not so's they embarrass Lang's originals, most of which are pretty metaphysical for country music. They're just highlights, like her own lusty "Big Boned Gal" and her own metaphysical "Luck in My Eyes." And "Nowhere to Stand" is an even smarter (and more abstract, fancy that) battered-child song than Suzanne Vega's or Natalie Merchant's. Maybe it's out of place on a quasiauthentic country record, though you have to like how she sneaks in the phrase "family tradition." But vexed concepts cut two ways. (Grade: B+)